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International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI)
ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714
www.ijhssi.org ||Volume 7 Issue 12 Ver. II || December 2018 || PP 01-17
Politics in India:-At a Glance:A Study of Indian Political System
and Elections
Dr. Nirmala Rana.
Associate Professor Department of Political Science Bhagini Nivedita College University of Delhi,Delhi.
ABSTRACT:This article is an attempt to analyze the nature of transformation in the Indian political parties and
to rethink their role in the contemporary times. That parties are motivated to ‘serve’ the people and inspired to
‘win’ elections is well documented. However, there are counter-examples of parties serving people at a price or
being equally powerful even while losing elections. Forming or sustaining a party seems to be a survival
strategy for political activists. Politics has become a business-like preoccupation. The recent climate of
competition has led to the emergence of sizable rent-seeking professional leaders. They calculate the returns on
the political and economic investments made, which is not confined to a zero-sum game of winning elections.
There are pay-offs even when one loses an election. Being in politics, a party activist has a distinct identity that
could reap dividends in the form of prestige, status and accessibility. These could be converted to pecuniary
benefits. Parties look like business firms in a political market.India having a population of a billion and a
quarter and an electorate of 814 million (2014) - is the world's largest democracy and this democratic system
stands in marked contrast since independence. Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions.
Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups such as tribes,
cities, or countries. In most countries, people have formed political parties to put forward their ideas. There is
usually some disagreement between people within a party, but they work together because they feel that they
agree on enough things, and they will have more power if they join together. They agree to take the same
position on many issues, and agree to support the same changes to law and the same leaders. An election is
usually a competition between different parties. India have a multi-party system in which various parties take
part in electoral system and forming the government on the basis of majority; these political parties time to
time evolve political mechanism differently at different point of time. As these days, alliance governance is the
main postulates of Indian political system. Politics involves making common decisions for a group of people. It
is the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in
power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and survival of the whole community. The study focus on
understanding the knowledge of the political science discipline; its principal theoretical frameworks and
applications, conceptual vocabulary, and methods of inquiry; its major subfields of study; and its
interrelationships with the other political fields. The study focus on understanding of basic facts and concepts
about the Indian political system, including its history, philosophical, constitutional and legal foundations,
leading political values and ideas, governing institutions, and policy-making processes. The study also
addresses diverse political systems, including empirical area-based knowledge; broader theoretical
understanding of different political systems, institutions and processes; and the changing domestic and global
contexts within which they operate. The study discusses the fundamental values and ethical issues contested in
politics over time; and of alternative moral and ethical frameworks for interpreting and evaluating
contemporary political discourses.
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Date of Submission: 22-11-2018 Date of acceptance: 08-12-2018
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I. INTRODUCTION
The most common form of government is the multi-party system. In such a system, there are three or
more parties which have the capacity to gain control of the government separately or in a coalition. In case, no
party achieves a clear majority of the legislative seats, then several parties join forces and form a coalition
government. Countries like India follow a multi-party system. Some people are of the view that a multi-party
system often leads to political instability in a country.
India is the largest democracy in the world. India has the biggest number of people with franchise
rights and the largest number of political parties, which take part in election campaign. In the 2014 national
elections, almost 814 million people voted and taking part in democratic system. Politics (from Greek: Politiká,
meaning "affairs of the cities") is the process of making decisions that apply to members of a group. It refers to
achieving and exercising positions of governance, and organized control over a human community, particularly
a state The academic study focusing on just politics, which is therefore more targeted than all Political science,
www.ijhssi.org 1 | PagePolitics in India:-At a Glance: A study of Indian Political System and Elections
is sometimes referred to as Politology. In modern nation-states, people have formed political parties to
represent their ideas. They agree to take the same position on many issues and agree to support the same
changes to law and the same leaders. Politics is a multifaceted word. It has a set of fairly specific meanings that
are descriptive and nonjudgmental (such as "the art or science of government" and "political principles"), but
often does carry a connotation of dishonest malpractice. A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which
include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making
laws, and exercising force, including warfare against adversaries. Politics is exercised on a wide range of social
levels, from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and
institutions up to sovereign states, to the international level. It is very often said that politics is about power. A
political system is a framework which defines acceptable political methods within a given society. The history
of political thought can be traced back to early antiquity, with seminal works such as Plato's Republic,
Aristotle's Politics and the works of Confucius. The word comes from the same Greek word from which the
title of Aristotle's book Politics also derives; polis means "affairs of the cities". The book title was rendered in
Early Modern English in the mid-15th century as "Polettiques"; it became "politics" in Modern English. A
political party is a political organization that typically seeks to attain and maintain political power within
government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions. Parties
often espouse an expressed ideology or vision bolstered by a written platform with specific goals, forming a
coalition among disparate interests.
The politics of India takes place within the framework of its constitution. India is a federal
parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is the head of state and the Prime Minister of
India is the head of government. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. a double government that consists of
the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The constitution defines the organisation powers
and limitations of both central and state governments, and it is well-recognized, rigid and considered supreme;
i.e. the laws of the nation must conform to it. There is a provision for a bicameral legislature consisting of an
upper house, the Rajya Sabha, which represents the states of the Indian federation, and a lower house i.e. Lok
Sabha, which represents the people of India as a whole. The Indian constitution provides for an independent
judiciary, which is headed by the Supreme Court. The court's mandate is to protect the constitution, to settle
disputes between the central government and the states, to settle inter-state disputes, to nullify any central or
state laws that go against the constitution and to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, issuing writs for their
enforcement in cases of violation. Governments are formed through elections held every five years (unless
otherwise specified), by parties that secure a majority of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha
in the central government and Vidhan Sabha in states). India had its first general election in 1951, which was
won by the Indian National Congress, a political party that went on to dominate subsequent elections until 1977,
when a non-Congress government was formed for the first time in independent India. The 1990s saw the end of
single-party domination and the rise of coalition governments. The elections for the 16th Lok Sabha, held from
April 2014 to May 2014, once again brought back single-party rule in the country, with the Bharatiya Janata
Party being able to claim a majority in the Lok Sabha. In recent decades, Indian politics has become a dynastic
affair. Possible reasons for this could be the absence of party organisations, independent civil society
associations that mobilize support for the parties and centralized financing of elections. The Economist
Intelligence Unit rated India as a "flawed democracy" in 2016.
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:-
The survey of literature plays a significant role in establishing the backdrop for any research work in
social sciences. To analyze any field of study, it is vitally important to go through and discuss, various books
and articles written by many eminent scholars and writers who have vividly and sagaciously studied and
analyzed with their perception. So an attempt is made to review important work. William in his book The
Meaning of Democratic Participation (1975) mentioned ten types of activities in political participation. Biju
M. R., in his work Parliamentary Democracy and Political Change in India (1999) mentioned that there has
been a perceptible change in the status of women in India in the last few decades. Palmer in his book Elections
and Political Development (1976) opines that political participation is granted in a modern society than in
traditional society; it is greater in a developed society than in developing societies. This study indicates a higher
degree of political participation on the part of Indians. 84 percent of the Indian electorates engage themselves in
more than one of the political activities including voting and almost half of the Indian electorate participate in
politics in one or more ways other than voting. Hadimani in her article The Politics of Poverty (1987) reports
that though the scheduled castes have seats constitutionally reserved for them in local village Panchayats to
enable them to function on equal footing with others in decision making process, either they are absent or do not
talk nor do they give their signature endorsing their consent simply for small gifts like petty cash or few
measures of grains .Singh finds younger age group more politically conscious compared to older age group.
However, political participation on the part of scheduled castes is more a group activity than an individual
www.ijhssi.org 2 | PagePolitics in India:-At a Glance: A study of Indian Political System and Elections
activity. Dr. Madhav Godbole (2011) “India’s Parliamentary Democracy on Trial” Dr. Godbole has in his
book under reference critically reviewed the Indian parliamentary democracy in vogue and analyzed the issue
critically and provided a few suggestions which go a long way in improving the present system. Because of the
various high positions that he had held in the government the book can well be treated as authentic. Md.
Manzurul Karim mentioned in his article on ―White paper on Political system of India: An example of a
Sustainable Democracy, pointed out the current problems face by the political system and sustainable aspect of
democracy.
Dr. B. L. Fadia: (2011) Book titled Indian “Government and Politics” In the first section the author
has take an overview of the Indian political system. The author has discussed the nature of the party system
prevailing in India. This needs to be understood to know the importance of mechanism of the Electioneering. In
a democratic set up Political parties assume greater importance. Although the political parties informally express
and form the public opinion. They influence the electorate greatly. The political parties mobilize the electorate.
In the parliamentary system any political party which secures highest seats becomes the ruling party and the
party which gets minority votes becomes the opposition party. And therefore, to decide which party has the
support of maximum electors the mechanism used is that of election
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy by Ramachandra Guha
explains the magisterial account of the pains, the struggles, the humiliations, and the glories of the world's
largest and least likely democracy, Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi is a breathtaking chronicle of the
brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation and the extraordinary factors that have held it together. Indian
Government and Politics has been written by Hoveyda Abbas and a detailed study of Indian government and
politics in 2010 A History Of Political Theory by George H. Sbine has discussed the history of political theory.
Public Administration has been written by M. Laxmikanth and published by Tata McGraw Hill; explain the
bureaucratic and administration structure of the country. Pradeep Chhibber (March 2013). "Dynastic parties
Organization, finance and impact". Party Politics by Sage Journals mentioned the parties‘ organization and its
dynastic character. Prakash Chander and Prem Arora has authored a book on "Nature of Party System in
India". Comparative Politics & International Relations. Cosmos Bookhive; explained the party system in India
and throw light on its comparative politics. Basu, Amrita; Chandra (Editor), Kanchan (2016) has written
Democratic Dynasties: State, Party and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics (1 ed.). Cambridge, UK:-
Cambridge University Press, opinions on the issues relating to the Contemporary Indian politics. Shively, W.
Phillips: Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science— Parliamentary Government in India.
McGraw Hill Higher Education, discussed on parliamentary government in India. Arun Shourie has written
The Parliamentary System and mentioned in it ―What we have made of it, what we can make of it‖
A careful review of literature reviews that sixteen factors were identified by researchers as factors that
influence electoral behaviour. They are caste, Rudolph and Rudolph (1967), Ram Sagar Singh (1969),
Ramashray Roy (1970), Chibber, P.K. (1999), Zoya Hasan (2001), Lcia Michelutti (2004), Muneshwar Yadav
(2004), Sandeep Shastri and Harish Ramaswamy (2004), Verma, A. K. (2004), Chandra,Kanchan (2004),
Sandeep Shastri and Padmavathi, B. S. (2009), Rahul Verma (2009), Suri, K.C., Narasimha Rao, P. and Anji
Reddy, V. (2009) and Ganshyam Shah (2010). Caste and Party, Kothari (1964), Andre Betelle (1970) and
Rajeswari Desh Pande and Nitin Binnal (2009). Religion, Blair, H.W. (1979), Maria Do Ceo Rodrigues, Prabhat
Kumar, Wiliam Joe, and Soland Da Silva (2004) and Mohd Sanjeer Alam (2009). Education and Performance,
Madhu Varshney, Y.C. Nigam (2000) and Elkins, David, L. (1975).
III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:-
The study focus on understanding the knowledge of the political science discipline; its principal
theoretical frameworks and applications, conceptual vocabulary, and methods of inquiry; its major subfields of
study; and its interrelationships with the other social science fields. The study focus on increase understanding
of basic facts and concepts about the Indian political system, including its history, philosophical, constitutional
and legal foundations, leading political values and ideas, governing institutions, and policymaking processes.
The study also addresses diverse political systems, including empirical area-based knowledge; broader
theoretical understanding of different political systems, institutions and processes; and the changing domestic
and global contexts within which they operate. The study discusses the fundamental values and ethical issues
contested in politics over time; and of alternative moral and ethical frameworks for interpreting and evaluating
contemporary political discourses. The major objectives of the study are as:-
1. To understand the Indian Political System and to understand the Role of High Political Offices in India and
of alternative moral and ethical frameworks for interpreting and evaluating contemporary political
discourses:- a) President of India, b) Vice-president of India, c) the prime Minister and Union council of
Ministers
2. To analyze and study the Indian Politics in terms of Elections of 2014 and the role of political parties and to
assess the alliances of political parties,
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3. To understand the Political issues of Indian politics:- a)Social Issues, b)Economic issues, and c)Law and
Order
IV. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
In our country, there are several political parties that stand for the election. The presence of the political
party is actually a healthy situation for the nation. It gives the people a choice to make a more evolved and
effective decision. Moreover, it drives the other political parties to get better than their competitors to win
elections and rule the nation. A democracy cannot exist without the presence of a political party. Every
candidate in the election would be an independent candidate. Any individual candidate does not have the
efficiency to promise any major policy change to the people. In such a scenario, no one will be responsible for
how the country is run. In the long run, only a representative democracy can survive. Political parties are the
agencies that gather different views on various issues and present them to the government. India, i.e. Bharat, as
stated in her constitution is a ‗Union of States‘ and follows a democratic parliamentary system of governance.
The well developed and fully evolved form of democracy that we witness today in India has taken a long span
of time to be matured. It has seen both ups and downs, but has managed to survive successfully. That is why the
study important to analyze the pillars of democracy and how these pillars functions. There are many factors
which worked for the success of India‘s democracy.
V. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:-
The study is based on secondary data which has been collected from the various newspaper, online and
offline media, election commission reports, magazines, journal and TV reports and books written by well-
known authors. Furthermore, secondary data can also be helpful in the research design of subsequent primary
research and can provide a baseline with which the collected primary data results can be compared to.
Therefore, it is always wise to begin any research activity with a review of the secondary. Secondary data are
those which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. The sources of published data are as
below:
i. Official publications of Central and local governments.
ii. Official publications of semi government statistical organization.
iii. Official publication of foreign government or international bodies like the UNO, World Bank, ADB, WTO,
UNESCO, etc.
iv. Reports and publications of Trade union, Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Banks, Co-operatives, Stock
Exchange etc.
v. Report submitted to economists, re-search scholars, universities and various educational and research
institutions.
vi. Reports of various committees and commissions appointed by government.
vii. Newspaper and Periodicals and Books
Now most of the information that is available to people and researchers in regard to social problems is
to be found in form of reports. The reports published by Government are considered as more dependable. On the
other hand some people think that the reports that are published by certain individuals and agencies are more
dependable and reliable. Journals, Books and magazines are important public documents including a wide
variety of information which can be usefully utilized in collection of data in this study. Most of these
information are very much reliable. Newspapers publish news, discussion on contemporary issues, reports of
meetings and conferences, essays and articles on living controversies and the letters of the readers to the editors;
all this has been used in this research paper. Besides the above mentioned public documents, film, television,
radio and public speeches etc., are other important sources of information for writing this paper. However,
reliable materials have been sorting out, and distinguishing it from the unreliable material advanced by these
sources.
VI. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE STUDY
India - with a population of a billion and a quarter and an electorate of 814 million (2014) - is the
world's largest democracy and, for all its faults and flaws, this democratic system stands in marked contrast to
the democratic challenges over the years. The Indian political system is a much more recent construct dating
from India's independence from Britain in 1947 and different from American and British political systems. The
constitution of Indian came into force on 26th January 1950 and stands on the pillars of justice, liberty and
equality for all citizens. The Constitution of India is consisting of 444 articles, 12 schedules and 98
amendments, with approximate 146,000 words in its English language version and the longest written
constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The constitution of India has been one of the most amended
national documents in the world with 98 changes in just over 70 years. Most of the amendments have resulted
over the strife between the parliament and Supreme Court on the issue of parliamentary sovereignty as they
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clash with those of the judicial review of laws and constitutional amendments. The draft committee formed the
constitution by keeping in mind Anglo-Saxon idea of federalism, as the Indian federal system had borrowed
from the United States, Canada and Australia, while India lower house named as Lok Sabha modeled on the
British House of Commons. While the framers of the Indian constitution certainly had in mind this Anglo-
Saxon idea of federalism, historically the central government has dominated over the regional states. The
constitution has granted under article (1) status to India as a ―Union of States‖, and it‘s called as Quasi-Federal
System.
6.1.To understand the Indian Political System and to understand the Role of High Political
Offices in India and of alternative moral and ethical frameworks for interpreting and evaluating
contemporary political discourses:- a) President of India, b) Vice-president of India, c) the prime Minister
and Union council of Ministers. The study undertakes the objective to understand the Indian Constitutions and
its working firstly. The following points brought out the importance of parliamentary system of India:-
6.1.1. The Executive: The head of state in India is the President. This is normally a ceremonial role,
originally modeled on the British monarch to "advise, encourage and warn" the elected government on
constitutional matters. The President can return a Parliamentary Bill once for reconsideration and, in times of
crisis such as a hung Parliament, the role is pivotal. The President can declare a state of emergency which
enables the Lok Sabha to extend its life beyond the normal five-year term. As members of an electoral college,
nearly 5,000 members of the national parliament and state legislators are eligible to vote in the election of the
President. The current President is Ram Nath Kovind, a member of the dalit (untouchable) caste. There is also
the post of Vice-President who is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of both houses of
parliament. The Vice-President chairs the upper house called the Rajya Sabha. The head of the government is
the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the majority party in the lower
house or Lok Sabha. In May 2014, Narendra Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), became PM,
having never previously held office at national level. Ministers are then appointed by the President on the
recommendation of the Prime Minister and these ministers collectively comprise the Council of Ministers.
6.1.1.1. President of India:- The Constitution of India lays down that the Head of State and Union
Executive is the President of India. S/He is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of
members of both Houses of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies of the states. The President is
eligible for re-elections; however, in India's independent history, only one president has been re-elected,
Rajendra Prasad. The President appoints the Prime Minister of India from the party or coalition which
commands maximum support of the Lok Sabha, on whose recommendation he/she nominates the other
ministers. The President also appoints judges of the Supreme Court and High Court. It is on the President's
recommendation that the Houses of Parliament meet, and only the president has the power to dissolve the Lok
Sabha. Furthermore, no bill passed by Parliament can become law without the president's assent. However, the
role of the president of India is highly ceremonial. All the powers of the president mentioned above are
exercised on recommendation of the Union Cabinet, and the president does not have much discretion in any of
these matters. The president also does not have discretion in the exercise of his executive powers, as the real
executive authority lies in the cabinet. The current President is Ram Nath Kovind.
6.1.1.2. Vice President of India:-The Office of the Vice-President of India is constitutionally the
second most senior office in the country, after the President. The vice-president is also elected by an electoral
college, consisting of members of both houses of parliament. Like the president, the role of the Vice-President
is also ceremonial, with no real authority vested in him/her. The Vice-President fills in a vacancy in the office of
President (till the election of a new president). His only regular function is that he functions are the Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha. No other duties/powers are vested in the office. The current Vice President is M.Venkaiah
Naidu.
6.1.1.3. The Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers:-The Union Council of Ministers,
headed by the Prime Minister, is the body with which the real executive power resides. The Prime Minister is
the recognized head of the government. The Union Council of Ministers is the body of ministers with which the
PM works with on a day-to-day basis. Work is divided between various ministers into various departments and
ministries. The Union cabinet is a smaller body of ministers which lies within the Council of Ministers, which is
the most powerful set of people in the country, playing an instrumental role in legislation and execution alike.
All members of the Union Council of ministers must be members of either House of Parliament at time of
appointment, or must get elected/nominated to either House within six months of their appointment. It is the
Union Cabinet that co-ordinates all foreign and domestic policy of the Union. It exercises immense control over
administration, finance, legislation, military, etc. The Head of the Union Cabinet is the Prime Minister. The
current Prime Minister of India is Narendra Modi.
6.1.1.4. The States Governance‖-India has a federal form of government, and hence each state also
has its own government. The executive of each state is the Governor (equivalent to the president of India),
whose role is ceremonial. The real power resides with the Chief Minister (equivalent to the Prime Minister) and
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the state council of ministers. States may either have a unicameral or bicameral legislature, varying from state to
state. The Chief Minister and other state ministers are also members of the legislature. India is a huge country
both demographically and geographically and consequently it operates a federal system of government. Below
the national level, there are 29 States and seven Union Territories for a total of 36 entities. The states and union
territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. The largest of India's states
is Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the north of the country. With 207 million inhabitants, UP is the most populous state in
India and is also the most populous country subdivision in the world. On its own, if it was an independent
nation, this state would be the world's fifth biggest country. Only China, India itself, the United States, and
Indonesia have a higher population. In Indian general elections, it fills more than one-seventh of the seats in
India's Parliament and, such is the state's caste-based and sometimes violent politics that, currently a quarter of
UP's MPs face criminal charges. Over the years, India has evolved from a highly centralized state dominated by
one political party to an increasingly fragmented nation, more and more influenced by regional parties and more
and more governed locally by unstable multi-party alliances. In the General Elections now, Congress and the
BJP face each other in a few of the 29 States; elsewhere, one of the two national parties faces a regional party.
6.1.2. The Legislative:- The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of
India. The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses. It is a bicameral legislature with two
houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role
as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok
Sabha. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and his Union
Council of Ministers. Those elected or nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are referred to
as Members of Parliament (MP). The Members of Parliament, Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian
public voting in Single-member districts and the Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha are elected by the
members of all State Legislative Assembly by proportional representation. The Parliament has a sanctioned
strength of 545 in Lok Sabha including the 2 nominees from the Anglo-Indian Community by the President, and
245 in Rajya Sabha including the 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of science, culture, art and
history. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi. The Indian Parliament consists of two houses
called the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head.
6.1.2.1. President of India:-The President of India, the Head of state is a component of Parliament.
Under Article 60 and Article 111, President's responsibility is to scrutinize that bills/laws passed by the
parliament are in accordance with constitutional mandate and stipulated procedure is followed before according
his/her approval to the bills. The President of India is elected by the elected members of Parliament of India and
the state legislatures and serves for a term of 5 years.[11]
6.1.2.3 Lok Sabha:-The lower house in the Indian political system is the Lok Sabha or House of the
People. As set out in the Constitution, the maximum size of the Lok Sabha is 552 members, made up of up to
530 members representing people from the states of India, up to 20 members representing people from the
Union Territories, and two members to represent the Anglo-Indian community if it does not have adequate
representation in the house according to the President. Currently the size of the house is 545 - made up of 530
elected from the states, 13 elected from the territories, and two nominated from the Anglo-Indian community.
By far the largest state representation is that of Uttar Pradesh with 80 members. At the other end of the scale,
three states have only one representative each. There are certain constituencies where only candidates from
scheduled casts and scheduled tribes are allowed to stand. Each member - except the two nominated ones -
represents a geographical single-member constituency as in the British model for the House of Commons. Each
Lok Sabha is formed for a five year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a
Proclamation of Emergency which may extend the term in one year increments. This has happened on three
occasions: 1962-1968, 1971 and 1975-1977. The last election to the Lok Sabha was in May 2014, so the next
election is expected to be in 2019.
6.1.2.4. Rajya Sabha:-The upper house in the Indian political system is the Rajya Sabha or
Council of States. As set out in the Constitution, the Rajya Sabah‘s has up to 250 members. 12 of these
members are chosen by the President for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social
services. These members are known as nominated members. The remainder of the house – currently comprising
238 members - is elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in proportion to the unit's population.
Again, of course, the largest state representation is that of Uttar Pradesh with 31 members. The method of
election in the local legislatures is the single transferable vote. Terms of office are for six years, with one third
of the members facing re-election every two years. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous session and, unlike the
Lok Sabha, it is not subject to dissolution. The two houses share legislative powers, except in the area of supply
(money) where the Lok Sabha has overriding powers. In the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the
two houses is held. If there is a conflict which cannot be resolved even by the joint committee of the two houses,
it is solved in the joint session of the Parliament, where the will of the Lok Sabha almost always prevails, since
the Lok Sabha is more than twice as large as the Rajya Sabha.
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The period during which the House meets to conduct its business is called a session. The Constitution empowers
the president to summon each House at such intervals that there should not be more than a six-month gap
between the two sessions. Hence the Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In India, the parliament
conducts three sessions each year:- a) Budget session: February to May c)Monsoon session: July to September,
c)Winter session: November to December Legislative proposals are brought before either house of the
Parliament in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by both houses
of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament. Money bills must originate in the
Lok Sabha. The council of states can only make recommendations over the bills to the House, within a period of
fourteen days.[15]
6.1.3. The Judiciary: - The judiciary interprets the Constitution as its final arbiter. It is its duty as
mandated by the Constitution, to be its watchdog, by calling for scrutiny any act of the legislature or the
executive, who otherwise, are free to enact or implement these, from overstepping bounds set for them by the
Constitution. It acts like a guardian in protecting the fundamental rights of the people, as enshrined in the
Constitution, from infringement by any organ of the state. It also balances the conflicting exercise of power
between the centre and a state or among states, as assigned to them by the Constitution. While pronouncing
decisions under its constitutional mandate, it is expected to remain unaffected by pulls and pressures exerted by
other branches of the state, citizens or interest groups. And crucially, independence of the judiciary has been
held to be a basic feature of the Constitution, and which being inalienable, has come to mean – that which
cannot be taken away from it by any act or amendment by the legislature or the executive. This independence
shows up in the following manner: No minister or even the executive collectively, can suggest any names for
appointment as judges, to the President, who ultimately decides on appointing them from a list of names
recommended only by the collegium of the judiciary. Nor can judges of the Supreme Court or a High Court be
removed from office once appointed, unless an overwhelming two-thirds of members of any of the Houses of
the Parliament back the move, and only on grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity. A person who has been
a judge of a court is debarred from practicing in the jurisdiction of that court [ s per the government, as held by
the court in the Three Judges Cases – (1982, 1993, 1998), a judge is appointed to the Supreme Court and the
High Court‘s by the President of India from a list of names recommended by the collegium — a closed group of
the Chief Justice of India and the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, for appointments to the Supreme
Court, and they, together with the Chief Justice of a High Court and its senior-most judges, for appointments to
that court. This has resulted in a Memorandum of Procedure being followed, for the appointments. Judges used
to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. After 1993, as held in the Second
Judges' Case, the executive was given the power to reject a name recommended by the judiciary. However,
according to some, the executive has not been diligent in using this power to reject the names of bad candidates
recommended. Earlier, one recommendation by a collegium came to be challenged in court. The court held that
who could become a judge was a matter of fact, and any person had a right to question it. But who should
become a judge was a matter of opinion and could not be questioned. As long as an effective consultation took
place within a collegium in arriving at that opinion, the content or material placed before it to form the opinion
could not be called for scrutiny in a court. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in civil, criminal
and constitutional cases. Since 2008, the size of the court has been 31. A judge is appointed to the Supreme
Court by the President of India on the recommendation of the collegiums — a closed group of the Chief Justice
of India, the four most senior judges of the court, and the senior-most judge hailing from the high court of a
prospective appointee. However, a Bill is currently being considered which would provide that Supreme Court
judges are appointed by the legislative branch with the collegiums functioning as an advisory body. The Indian
Judiciary administers a common law system of legal jurisdiction, in which customs, precedents and legislation,
all codify the law of the land. It has in fact, inherited the legacy of the legal system established by the then
colonial powers and the princely states since the mid-19th century, and has partly retained characteristics of
practices from the ancient and medieval times. There are various levels of judiciary in India – different types of
courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them. They form a strict
hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with the Supreme Court of India at
the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges sitting in District Courts and
Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the bottom
6.1.3.1.. Supreme Court of India:-The Supreme Court is the highest court of the country or nation,
which is established by the Constitution. According to it, the Supreme Court is a federal court, guardian of the
Constitution and the highest court of appeal. Articles 124 to 147 of the Constitution lay down the composition
and jurisdiction of the Court. Primarily, it is an appellate court which takes up appeals against judgments of the
High Courts of the states and territories. However, it also takes writ petitions in cases of serious human rights
violations or any petition filed under Article 32 which is the right to constitutional remedies or if a case involves
a serious issue that needs immediate resolution. It had its inaugural sitting on 26 January 1950, the day India's
constitution came into force, and since then has delivered more than 24,000 reported judgements. The Supreme
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Court comprises the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges. The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in
English only. The Supreme Court Rules of 1966 are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution to regulate the
practice and procedure of the Supreme Court. The same is amended and presently governed by the Supreme
Court Rules of 2013.
6.1.3.2. High courts:-There are 24 High Courts at the State level. The constitution of India under
Article (141) mandates that they are bound by the judgements and orders of the Supreme Court of India by
precedence. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union
territories. Below the High Courts are a hierarchy of subordinate courts such as the civil courts, family courts,
criminal courts and various other district courts. High courts are instituted as constitutional courts under Part VI,
Chapter V, Article 214 of the Indian Constitution. The High Courts are the principal civil courts of original
jurisdiction in the state along with District Courts which are subordinate to the High courts. However, High
courts exercise their original civil and criminal jurisdiction only if the courts subordinate to the high court in the
state are not competent (not authorized by law) to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction.
High courts may also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters if so designated specifically in a state or
Federal law. e.g.: Company law cases are instituted only in a high court. However, primarily the work of most
High Courts consists of Appeals from lower courts and writ petitions in terms of Article 226 of the Constitution
of India. Writ Jurisdiction is also original jurisdiction of High Court. The precise territorial jurisdiction of each
High Court varies Judges in a high court are appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice
of India, Chief Justice of High Court and the governor of the state. The number of judges in a court is decided
by dividing the average institution of main cases during the last five years by the national average, or the
average rate of disposal of main cases per judge per year in that High Court, whichever is higher. The Calcutta
High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, established on 2 July 1862, whereas the Allahabad High
Court is the largest, having a sanctioned strength of judges at 160. High courts which handle a large number of
cases of a particular region, have permanent benches (or a branch of the court) established there. For litigants of
remote regions, 'circuit benches' are set up, which work for those days in a month when judges visit.
6.1.3..3. District courts:-The District Courts of India are established by the State governments of India
for every district or for one or more districts together taking into account the number of cases, population
distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under
administrative control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs. The decisions of
District court are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the concerned High court. The district court is presided
over by one District Judge appointed by the state Government. In addition to the district judge there may be
number of Additional District Judges and Assistant District Judges depending on the workload. The Additional
District Judge and the court presided have equivalent jurisdiction as the District Judge and his district court. The
district judge is also called "Metropolitan session judge" when he is presiding over a district court in a city
which is designated "Metropolitan area" by the state Government. The district court has appellate jurisdiction
over all subordinate courts situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts, on the
civil side (in ascending order) are, Junior Civil Judge Court, Principal Junior Civil Judge Court, Senior Civil
Judge Court (also called sub-court). Subordinate courts, on the criminal side (in ascending order) are, Second
Class Judicial Magistrate Court, First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Chief Judicial Magistrate Court .In
addition 'Family Courts" are established to deal with matrimonial disputes alone. The Principal Judge of family
court is equivalent to District Judge.
6.1.3.4. Subordinate courts:-Subordinate courts are also known as Lok Adalat (people's court),
village courts, or Nyaya Panchayat (justice of the villages), compose a system of alternative dispute resolution.
They were recognized through the 1888 Madras Village Court Act, then developed (after 1935) in various
provinces and (after 1947) Indian states. The model from the Gujarat State (with a judge and two assessors) was
used from the 1970s onwards. In 1984 the Law Commission recommended to create Nyaya Panchayat in rural
areas with laymen ("having educational attainments"). The 2008 Gram Nyayalayas Act had foreseen 5,000
mobile courts in the country for judging petty civil (property cases) and criminal (up to 2 years of prison) cases.
However, the Act has not been enforced properly, with only 151 functional Gram Nyayalayas in the country (as
of May 2012) against a target of 5000 such courts. The major reasons behind the non-enforcement include
financial constraints, reluctance of lawyers, police and other government officials.
6.2. To analyze and study the Indian Politics in terms of Elections of 2014 and the role of political
parties and to assess the alliances of political parties. The study undertakes another objective to understand
the Current Indian Political system and its working and issues relating to it. The study firstly analyzes the
election of 2014, political parties and their roles and political issues prevailing currently. The study observed the
following points in this respect:-
6.2.1. Election:-Elections in a country of the size and complexity of India are huge and difficult affairs.
In the General Election of 2014, 814 million people were eligible to vote and 930,000 polling booths were
required to enable them to do so. The Indian Constitution requires that voters do not have to travel more than 2
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km (1.2 miles) from their homes to vote. There is no way that such a poll can be conducted on a single day and
in fact the last election to the Lok Sabha took place over a period of six weeks, starting on 7 April 2014 and
finishing on 12 May 2014 with all votes counted on a single day: 16 May 2014. The election was conducted in
nine separate phases and almost 4 million staffs were deployed to run them. Administrative and security
considerations meant that electoral staff and soldiers were moved around the country as the different voting
phases took place. More than 150 million people had the vote for the first time. For the first time also, ballot
papers included a 'none of the above' option for those who did not wish to vote for any candidate and around 1%
selected this option. Historically only around 55% of those eligible to do so vote in Indian national elections.
However, turnout for the 2014 election broke records with 66.38% of those eligible casting a vote. There is
growing concern in India about what has been called the "criminalization" of politics. Almost one third of the
members of the last parliament had criminal cases pending against them and, according to the Association for
Democratic Reforms (ADR), in the 2014 election between 20-30% of candidates had criminal charges against
them. The severity of these charges varies and some charges may be unfounded, as the judicial process is often
used to smear political opponents and police in many states are highly corrupt. Nevertheless, there is little doubt
that overall criminality and corruption are high in Indian politics.
The Indian general election, 2014 was held to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha, electing members of
parliament for all 543 parliamentary constituencies. Running in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014, it was
the longest election in the country's history. According to the Election Commission of India, 814.5 million
people were eligible to vote, with an increase of 100 million voters since the last general election in 2009,
making it the largest ever election in the world. Around 23.1 million or 2.7% of the total eligible voters were
aged 18–19 years. A total of 8,251 candidates contested for the 543 Lok Sabha seats. [10] The average election
turnout over all nine phases was around 66.38%, the highest ever in the history of Indian general elections.
The results were declared on 16 May 2014, 15 days before the 15th Lok Sabha completed its
constitutional mandate on 31 May 2014. The counting exercise was held at 989 counting centres. [10] The
National Democratic Alliance won a sweeping victory, taking 336 seats. The BJP won 31.0% votes, which is the
lowest share for a party to form a majority government in India since independence, [12] while NDA's combined
vote share was 38.5%. BJP and its allies won the right to form the largest majority government since the 1984
general election, and it was the first time since that election that a party has won enough seats to govern without
the support of other parties. The United Progressive Alliance, led by the Indian National Congress, won 59
seats, 44 (8.1%) of which were won by the Congress, that won 19.3% of all votes. It was the Congress party's
worst defeat in a general election. In order to become the official opposition party in India, a party must gain
10% of the seats (54 seats) in the Lok Sabha; however, the Indian National Congress was unable to attain this
number. Due to this fact, India remains without an official opposition party. The Chief Election Commissioner
of India (CEC), V. S. Sampath, announced the polling schedule on 5 March. Voting was scheduled to be held in
nine phases from 7 April to 12 May, and the results of the election were announced on 16 May. Simultaneous
elections were held for the Vidhan Sabhas of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and
Sikkim. National Democratic Alliance:-The constituents of the National Democratic Alliance and the seats
they contested and won are shown at the right in the table: The NDA garnered an overwhelming number of 343
seats in this election. This has propelled it to form the government in the country.
Table No: 1
NDA: Seats Contested and Won
Party Contested Won
Bhartiya Janata Party 427 282
Shiv Shena 20 18
Telgu Desam Party 30 16
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam 14 0
Shiromani Akali Dal 10 4
Pattali Makkal Katchi 8 1
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra 7 0
Kazhagam
Lok Janshakti Party 7 6
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party 3 3
Apna Dal 2 2
Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) 2 0
Swabhimani Paksha 2 1
Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi 1 0
Puthiya Needhi Katchi 1 0
Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi 1 0
All India N.R. Congress 1 1
Republican Party of India (A) 1 0
Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1 0
Revolutionary Socialist Party 1 0
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(Bolshevik)
Kerala Congress (Nationalist) 1 0
Kerala Congress (Nationalist) 1 0
National People's Party 1 1
Naga People's Front 1 1
Mizo National Front 1 0
National Democratic Alliance 543 336
(Source:- Election Commission report 2014)
Mr. Narendra Modi was chosen to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign after a party conclave in
Goa. This came amid controversy as L. K. Advani opposed the decision and resigned from his party posts, only
to later rescind his resignation. M. M. Joshi and Sushma Swaraj were part of the team for the campaign. Rajnath
Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani were the mentors for the BJP's campaign. A twelve-
member committee had been nominated at Goa conclave under the leadership of Narendra for 2014 election.
Modi contested the election from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Vadodara in Gujarat. Arun Jaitley contested for
the Lok Sabha for the first time from Amritsar against former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
The BJP released its manifesto on 7 April 2014, and in its manifesto promised to set up a Price Stabilization
Fund and to evolve a single 'National Agriculture Market' to check price rise and go for e-Governance, policy-
driven governance and simplification of the tax regime to prevent corruption. It wanted to encourage labour-
intensive manufacturing, focus on traditional employment bases of agriculture, the upgrade of infrastructure and
housing and self-employment opportunities for job creation. Harnessing satellite technology; setting up National
Optical-Fibre Network up to the village level; Diamond Quadrilateral project – of High Speed Train network
were among several other things that the party promised. Modi's announcement "one rank, one pension" at an
ex-servicemen's rally at Rewari on 15 September 2013, and promised to take steps immediately after the
formation of the government. BJP campaign slogan on "Aab ki baar, Modi sarkar came up with the idea to out
the UPA government and give opportunity to Modi government.‘ By the last day of campaigning on 10 May,
Narendra Modi had undertaken the largest mass outreach in India's electoral history by travelling about
300,000 km for 437 public meetings in 25 states and 1350 innovative 3D rallies according to the BJP.
Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan announced on 30 January that the LJP, RJD and INC will jointly
contest the election from Bihar's constituencies. He later announced on 27 February that he will instead join the
NDA. LJP contested polls with the BJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) on 40 seats with 30 seats for
BJP, three seats for RLSP and seven seats for LJP. LJP and RLSP won all the seats allotted to them with BJP
winning 22 seats. The election was seen by many BJP leaders as a show of strength after fallout with JD (U).
After the election results, Nitish Kumar was forced to resign from the post of Chief Minister after being
marginalized to just 2 seats. Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), led by Tamil film actor
Vijayakanth joined the NDA. On 10 April, while campaigning in Telangana, Jayaprakash Narayan of the Lok
Satta Party stated that while his party had a few differences of opinion with the BJP manifesto, they had decided
to support the NDA in the "national interest".
The Swabhimani Paksha (SWP) a political party of Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana (SSS) joined the
Shiv Sena-BJP-Republican Party of India (A) alliance. In addition to the aforementioned four parties that were
contesting from Maharashtra, RSP was also in the alliance. Shiromani Akali Dal contested 10 out of 13 seats in
Punjab, India.
United Progressive Alliance
The constituents of the United Progressive Alliance and the seats they contested and won are shown at
the right in the table: This election turned out to be an unprecedented disaster for the UPA as they garnered the
lowest number of seats in their history.
Table No:-2
UPA: (Seats Contested and Won)
Party Contested Won
Indian National Congress 464 44
Rashtriya Janata Dal 28 4
Nationalist Congress Party 23 6
Rashtriya Lok Dal 8 0
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 4 2
Jammu & Kashmir National 3 0
Conference
Mahan Dal 3 0
Indian Union Muslim League 2 2
Socialist Janata 1 0
Kerala Congress (M) 1 1
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Revolutionary Socialist Party 1 1
Bodoland People's Front 1 0
Communist Party of India 1 0
United Progressive Alliance 540 60
(Source: - Election Commission of India 2014)
The Indian National Congress had announced, on the fourth anniversary of the second United
Progressive Alliance government, that its campaign for the election would be led by incumbent Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, INC chairperson Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi was
appointed to head a six-member committee to formulate and implement alliances, the party manifesto and
general publicity for the election. In March, the INC, RJD and NCP announced that they would jointly contest
in Bihar. The INC contested 12 seats, NCP fought on 1 seat and the RJD, being a regional party, would seek the
rest of 27 seats. At the Congress party meeting it was decided not to name a prime ministerial candidate amid
fears it would turn the election into a presidential one. The INC was scheduled to hold its first meeting of the
central election committee on 13 February to finalise all their candidates by the end of the month. Similarly, the
screening committees for several unnamed part of the country had already occurred so as to shortlist the
candidates. On 8 March, its list of 194 candidates was announced, including 35% of candidates that were below
the age of 50 years. The INC was reported to be concerned by the possibility of a reduced mandate in Gandhi's
seat of Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency) amidst an unusual challenge by his high-profile competitor, the BJP's
Smriti Irani. It even led to his mother, Sonia, campaigning there for the first time in 10 years. The INC in its
manifesto the party promised "inclusive growth" and that it would initiate a raft of welfare schemes, including a
right to healthcare for all and pensions for the aged and disabled.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was in alliance with the INC in the states of Bihar, Goa, Gujarat,
Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) contested polls in alliance with INC and RJD in
Jharkhand. JMM and INC contested in four and ten seats each, respectively. Rashtriya Janata Dal and National
conference were the part and alliance of UPA.
Left parties
The left parties were not the part of UPA alliances. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) declared
their campaign slogan as "Reject Congress, Defeat BJP." On 3 April, the party published its fourth list of
candidates for a total of 94 candidates. In West Bengal, CPI (M) contested as part of the Left Front. 32 out of
the 42 Left Front candidates in West Bengal came from the CPI (M), while 20 of its candidates were running for
the first time. In Kerala, the CPI (M) contested as a constituent of the Left Democratic Front. In the list of the 15
CPI (M) candidates in Kerala released in mid-March, four were incumbent Lok Sabha members and five others
were independents. The Kollam seat was allocated to M.A. Baby after the RSP left the LDF and joined the
United Democratic Front. In Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil
Nadu, the CPI (M) made an electoral pact with the CPI and other left parties. In Andhra Pradesh, however, no
agreement could be reached between the CPI (M) and the CPI due to differences on the Telangana issue; CPI
(M) opposed bifurcation, while the CPI supported creating Telangana. In Telangana region, CPI contested one
seat (in alliance with Indian National Congress), while CPI (M) contested two seats.
Other parties
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formed in 2012, contested 432 seats and won 4 seats. The party's
manifesto focused on anti-corruption measures. Earlier in 2013, the party had made an impressive electoral
debut by winning the second highest number of seats in the Delhi Legisltive Assembly elections. After forming
a short-lived minority government in Delhi, AAP was seen as a major challenger to the other political parties.
However, the party lost deposits on 413 seats, surpassing the record of Doordarshi Party, which had lost deposit
on 321 seats in 1991. AAP's leader Arvind Kejriwal unsuccessfully contested against the BJP's prime ministerial
candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) opted not to join any alliance and
contested all seats in Tamil Nadu on its own. AIADMK managed to win 37 out of a total of 39 parliamentary
constituencies in the state of Tamil Nadu.
On 21 March, the All India Forward Bloc released its first list of candidates that covered 38 seats in
West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi. In West Bengal the party contested the election as part of the Left
Front. On 19 March, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati declared that the party would contest the
election on its own and fielded candidates in all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati was confident that the BSP
would seek a mandate to form a government with support of secular parties. The party secured the third highest
vote share in the Country and yet did not win a single seat.
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